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Brabus unveils 850-hp grocery getter

It wouldn't be the Essen Motor Show without German tuning house Brabus introducing its own versions of one or two of Mercedes-Benz cars, with borderline-unbelievable power figures. And this year the Bottrop-based outfit didn't disappoint, rolling out the Brabus 850 6.0 Biturbo based on the 2014 E63 AMG station wagon. For starters, Brabus has increased the V8 engine's displacement from 5,461cc to 5,912cc, installing custom-made forged pistons and a precision balanced billet crankshaft, and replacing the stock turbos with ones of their own design featuring larger compressor units.

Car Designers Blackmailed

A London court has found former design student Guy Lloyd-Parker guilty of blackmailing US car designers. The London College of Fashion graduate had claimed that 95 car design sketches were stolen from him by two college lecturers in 1994, eventually resurfacing as final designs in the form of the Audi TT, BMW Z3, Mazda RX-8 and the Volvo XC90. Lloyd-Parker, having failed to successfully sue the college, began sending menacing letters to California-based Volvo Design Director Geza Loczi, former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, and ex-Mazda designer Tsutomu Matano demanding £90,000.

Audi Urban Concept

Audi has released additional photos and information on the Urban Concept, which is set to make its debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September. As we previously reported, the new car – touted by Audi as a 'new kind of concept car' that combines aspects of a racing car as well as a fun-to-drive urban vehicle – is a diminutive two-passenger vehicle powered by two e-tron electric motors. Measuring in at 3200mm long, 1700mm wide and 1200mm tall, the Urban Concept is expected to weigh less than 500kg, thanks largely to a cockpit made from CFRP.